After a few years of milder temperatures on New Year’s Day, 2026 began with frigid cold, bitter winds, and a dusting of snow over the streets and sidewalks of NYC. That, of course, didn’t stop the Coney Island Polar Bear Club from starting off the year with a dip in the Atlantic Ocean. While the crowds were perhaps a little thinner than usual, owing to temperatures that stayed below freezing for most of the morning, hundreds of people joined in on the beloved annual tradition, which is now in its 123rd year, dressed in bathing suits, elaborate costumes, New Years glasses and hats, or just their clothes, and there was a line wrapped well around the block for registration as I headed back to the subway around noon. See pictures below.
Proceeds from the New Year’s Day Plunge go to Coney Island non-profit organizations like the Alliance for Coney Island, Coney Island History Project, Coney Island Library, Coney Island USA, and the New York Aquarium. Find more details and donate here.
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield
photo by Amanda M Hatfield